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Author
Topic: am i infected? (Read 5446 times)

i was having sex with an indonesian girl in december last year, the condom split and i was worried straight away but the worries kinda slipped away.

i havent had any problems at all health wise up till now where my tongue is looking a bit white with a few blemishes towards the back, it seems to have subsided a bit after a few days but i am worried.

have i got hiv or is it possible for a 22 year old male to get this discolouration on my tongue?

this did occur one morning after i had been out on the booze for 3 days and was kissing a girl the night before. can anyone give me any clarity?

As Rod has said you do need to get tested. However, bear in mind that the condom would have protected you until it broke. And they provide very effective protection. Also, HIV is not an easy virus to transmit. It's significantly harder to accomplish from female to male. Taking all of that into consideration the odds against transmission in this single instance are significantly in your favor.

But do get tested. HIV is never something to guess about. Since it's more than 13 weeks ago, you can test anytime now and get an accurate result.

It's good to know you're using condoms. For future reference make certain you're using the right size for you.

Talk to your doctor about your tongue. It is not an HIV specific problem and only a doctor can diagnose if you actually have thrush.

I had sex with an indonesian girl, in indonesia in december last year. the condom split and for the past month or 2 i have been feeling a few symtpoms of hiv.

mainly thrush on my tongue and some muscle aches.

i have only just gone to the doctor to request tests and although i dont know the doctor well he wasnt the most encouraging person to talk to.

i am going to get tested tomorrow and should get my results back within a week but am worried that if i have had hiv for 6 months may i be in a really serious state with the virus already and should have acted sooner?

As you've been told, it's highly unlikely that you would have become infected from your split condom incident, but you are wise to test because hiv is nothing to guess about.

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL STIs together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with a sexually transmitted infection. Sex with a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

Have a look through all three condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence. A correctly used condom rarely splits or breaks.

Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results. Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv.

And no, six months is nothing to worry about when dealing with primary infection, but it's unlikely you're positive from this incident anyway.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

i understand what you are saying ann but why would my tongue still be white and rough, i do smoke but i have smoked since i was 16 and im sure i would have noticed it sooner.

also these muscle aches i have been having. i dont know whether its just paranoia but these are 2 symptoms of hiv as i have read on the internet. i will get tested and i am expecting the worst. i have been putting it off for months and have finally pulled the courage together to get tested tomorrow.

Symptoms or even the lack of symptoms means absolutely nothing when it comes to hiv infection. Tongues go white for all sorts of reasons. You won't be the first or last to wrongly assume that your symptoms = hiv.

I'm fully expecting you to test negative, unless you've been having unprotected intercourse that you're not telling us about.

If your tongue worries you, see your doctor or dentist. It's unlikely to have anything at all to do with hiv - and the same goes for your aching muscles. There are illnesses other than hiv out there.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

You didn't "cheat" anything. As we say many times, HIV is a very difficult virus to transmit because it's so fragile.

The lesson you need to bring from this is about condoms. Use your own whenever practical. Check the expiration date printed/embossed on the foil wrapper and DO NOT use expired condoms, ever. Finally, don't forget to use plenty of water-soluble lube.

If a condom fails, it's almost always because it was expired or not enough lube was used. Used correctly, condoms are your best protection against HIV and many (though not all) STDs.